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EU live performance social partners are moving forward on equality

Published: 20 March 2019

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The Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee in the Live Performance Sector is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. EURO-MEI has been an integral part of the Committee since the beginning, having been the driving force behind the establishment of the Committee and then building the Committee together with Pearle. Celebratory activities are being planned for later in the year to mark the achievement.

On 21 February the European Social Partners met to discuss topics such as gender equality and mobility. The European Commission presented an update on the on-going visa code revision, which will lead to increases in fees but also to more flexibility in the application process, as applying for a visa will become possible up to six months before the intended travel. The European Social Partners are also pursuing changes to the tax regime, as currently many of those who do cross-border work and touring end up being subjected to double taxation, i.e. they are taxed in the country of the performance as well as their country of residence. Previous work on this having not resulted in changes, the Social Partners are now preparing for the next review of the OECD Model Tax Treaty, which lays the groundwork for double taxation at international level.

As another aspect of mobility, concerns were raised on the impact of Brexit. Regardless of the nature of the deal, immigration rules will be affected which will have an impact on a sector that strongly relies on mobility of workers and productions.

Regarding gender equality, the Social Partners have been looking into the equality situation and sexual harassment in the live performance sector in the wake of the #metoo movement in several previous meetings. Both sides of the table agree that it is crucial for the Social Partners to work together on these issues, due to their complexity and their pervasiveness in the sector, and are looking into developing joint work to address the situation.